Start spreading the news – Springfield Catholic is heading back to a place where it hadn't been in 13 years.
Led by a head coach in only his first year, the Irish (19-3) had themselves quite a day – rolling to a 5-0 victory over the Warrensburg Tigers (12-3) on Saturday afternoon and clinching a berth into the state semifinal round after also sweeping Thomas Jefferson Independent in their morning match.
“All of the success is due to our players,” said Catholic head coach Justin Fravel, who is on his first go-around manning a tennis program. “I've just been really blessed to have great players that are willing to work hard.”
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE WARRENSBURG MATCH
After taking care of business in the first round of sectionals against a solid Thomas Jefferson Independent squad that lost only three times all season, the Irish knew the road was going to get tougher in its afternoon battle as a two-loss Warrensburg team looked to end Catholic's postseason run.
“It was more about staying confident in our game and just believing that we could beat this team,” Catholic sophomore and No. 1 player Jason Nayar said. “We knew we were good enough to beat them. It was just about staying confident and focused throughout the whole match.”
That confidence and focus showed itself in vibrant fashion as the Irish made quick work of the Tigers in doubles with an impressive 3-0 sweep.
Catholic's No. 1 doubles team of Jason Nayar and Cooper Croley got the party started with an 8-0 victory, while the No. 2 and No. 3 combos of Ethan Chanliongco/Keegan Randell and Adam Chanliongco/Ryan Miller claimed wins of 8-2 and 8-3, respectively.
“It kind of sets the tone for the rest of the match,” Nayar said of getting off to a good start in doubles play. “If you start off 3-0, you get confidence as a team and it's pretty easy to win singles after that since you just need two matches.”
Despite just standing two wins away from a trip to the state Final Four, Fravel was far from taking anything for granted – knowing that the smallest urge to relax could lead to an undoing in singles and an eventual heartbreaker.
Feeding off words from their coach, the Irish continued their stellar play and finished off Warrensburg with two quick wins – a perfect 6-0, 6-0 showing from Nayar over senior Max Manley and a 6-0, 6-1 outing from Randell, who turned away freshman Kaden Powers.
“I told these guys to just keep their foot on the gas and don't let up,” Fravel said. “You don't want to give your opponents any room to come back, so keep pushing. We did that.”
The young Catholic club, which doesn't feature a single senior on the roster, will look to continue its amazing run when it faces MICDS (18-2) at Cooper Tennis Complex on Thursday morning.
“They did very well last year, but we've taken it a step further this year,” Fravel added of his team. “We're going to keep going, we're going to keep playing, keep competing and see where we go.”
